A few days after parting ways with Brad Friedel, the New England Revolution put forth an inspired performance to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes, 3-1, Saturday night at Gillette Stadium.
Under interim coach Mike Lapper, the Revs snapped a four-match winless streak, which included three lopsided defeats. The Earthquakes, meanwhile, had their four-match unbeaten streak snapped.
Juan Agudelo opened the scoring in the 18th minute, calling for, and then, latching onto an Edgar Castillo cross, beating Nick Lima to the edge of the six-yard box before burying the volley.
New England doubled its advantage just before the half-hour mark on a Cristian Penilla corner kick. Teal Bunbury ran onto a Brandon Bye long ball, spun Harold Cummings before the Panamanian defender grabbed him on the shoulder. Bunbury went down and referee Guido Gonzales Jr. pointed to the spot.
There was also a Video Review for a red card for possible DOGSO, but Cummings was only shown a yellow card.
Carles Gil put the Revs third win of the season away in the 68th minute. Fresh off the substitute’s bench, Tajon Buchanan took on Lima, who blocked his initial shot. The ball bounced back to Buchanan, who poked a pass to Gil, who settled quickly before finishing from close range.
After Chris Wondolowski was denied on a back heel from in front of the net, Vako pulled the Quakes within two goals two minutes from full time.
Goals
- 18’ — NE — Juan Agudelo | WATCH
- 29’ — NE — Cristian Penilla (PK) | WATCH
- 68’ — NE — Carles Gil | WATCH
- 88’ — SJ — Vako | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Andrew Farrell said before the game the Revs wanted to score a lot of goals, not concede any and win the game. Mission accomplished in Lapper’s first game in charge as an interim coach. The Quakes offered little resistance outside of Vako’s late goal in their first loss in nearly a month.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The game hinged on this penalty kick decision. Did Gonzales Jr. get it right or was it too soft?
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Farrell put in a solid shift defensively for a Revs team that was two minutes from their second clean sheet of the season. He had six clearances, three headed clearances, two tackles won and one interception in his 90-minute effort.
Next Up
- NE: Saturday, May 18 at Montreal Impact (1:00 pm ET | TVAS, MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US)
- SJ: Saturday, May 18 vs. Chicago Fire (3:30 pm ET | Univision, Twitter, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
